


If Only For a Little While

by eternalmagic



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, also just mentions of flavia, there's no real chrom or fem!mu in here they're just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 08:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2501213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalmagic/pseuds/eternalmagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lon’qu smiles faintly, and feels at home. This--this is what he wants for his son; he wants him to be safe, and happy, kept away from the world at war just outside the palace walls. It won’t last, and he knows it, but if this can be their life for just a little while, he’ll be happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Only For a Little While

**Author's Note:**

> Set mostly during the original timeline, if it's not obvious.

“Papa! Papa, look, I found a lady bug!”

Lon’qu turns, eyebrow raising a bit as his son trots towards him, hands cupped together as if holding something. Morgan’s eyes are lit up, excitement filling his face as he stops; he’s so excited that he almost starts bouncing on his feet, unable to stop moving. The swordsman smiles, his expression softening the way it only does around his son, and kneels down to see.

“A lady bug, huh…?”

“Mmmhmm! I found it on the flowers over there.” Morgan gestures towards the flower beds a few yards away, where he’d been studying the plants. “And it was really pretty so I caught it so I could show you!”

Lon’qu smiles a little more at that, nodding a little in return. Morgan slowly opens his hands to reveal the insect as it crawls along his palm happily. Neither father nor son says anything for long moment, simply watching the creature before it decides to fly away--both follow its flight before it becomes too small to see.

The other children are around, along with a few of their parents. Most of them are playing with one another, their laughter loud and a welcome sound in a world where there’s so little left to laugh about. A few of their parents hover around the edges of the courtyard, watching over the group rather protectively.

“--Why don’t you try playing with the others?” He asks quietly, turning his attention back to Morgan as the boy fiddles with the sleeves of his coat. “I’m sure they would enjoy having you there with them.”

Morgan’s been hiding behind his father since they’ve arrived, his incredible shyness rearing its head. Morgan has always been a quiet child, taking after his father in that respect, but once he opens up to someone he is most definitely his mother’s child--this, however, is not the usual shy but friendly Morgan. He seems reluctant to stray far from his father’s side.

“..Don’t wanna.”

The swordsman tilts his head. “Why not?”

“O-Owain scares me. He’s really loud.”

“He is, just a little bit. But he’s not so bad.” He could be more like Gaius. Or Henry. Lon'qu's thankful the little troublemaker's father is Frederick, one of the most level-headed men he's ever known.

Morgan frowns, playing more with his sleeves. A gift from a friend, it looks similar enough to his mother’s coat that Lon’qu felt a lump in his throat when they’d first gotten it. “I wanna go home.”

“Morgan, you know we can’t. It’s not safe for anyone there.”

“But--I miss Flavia. You and she always used to play with me.”

“I know Owain and Cynthia would like someone else to play with, even if they’re a little rowdy. I’m sure you’ll like them as much as Flavia.” Says a voice behind them, and Lon’qu turns to see Olivia, her expression warm as it always is with the Shepherd’s children. In an instant, Morgan buries himself in his father’s chest and clams up. “And my son Inigo would enjoy your company, too.” Morgan doesn’t say anything, having decided not to speak any more, and quietly hides his face in Lon’qu’s collar. Olivia doesn’t seem upset in the slightest--years spent dealing with Lon’qu and his stubborn silence, in addition to raising two children, seems to have made her an incredibly patient woman. She comes up to Lon’qu’s side, kneeling down a little to make eye contact. “You were looking at the flowers earlier, right? Inigo likes them too, you know.”

“...”

“And Cynthia likes bugs, just like you! I bet you two can go find a lot of them together.”

It takes a bit of coaxing, but Morgan does eventually agree to go say hello to Olivia’s son--he looks shy about it still even as he murmurs a quiet hello, but soon Inigo’s charm wins him over and they’re crouching together by a rose bush. Olivia stands and lets out a breath, Lon’qu doing the same. Though he loves Morgan, it’s nice not to have him on his heels for a few minutes.

A few quiet moments pass, before Olivia laughs to herself, shaking her head a little. “I remember the day Morgan was born--you were so worried you wouldn’t be a good father. Look at you now…”

Lon’qu turns to look at her, eyebrow raised. “I don’t remember that.”

Her face turns a little pink under her gaze (but then it always has, and something that makes her so charming as a friend) and she huffs. “You must have everything about that day blocked out of your head, then, because I clearly remember it, and so do Lissa and Frederick and practically half of the other Shepherds.” She looks out towards their sons again, who have since been joined by Cynthia and Laurent. “...We’ve missed you here, you know. It’s nice to have you and Morgan here, I just wish--”

“--Not under these circumstances?”

The dancer nods quietly--her thoughts must be on Flavia, the Khan Regnant. She was the only reason Lon’qu and Morgan were even in Ylisstol; she’d forced them to send word to the Shepherds of Regna Ferox’s destruction, and stayed behind to lead a final charge. Lon’qu still had a bitter taste in his mouth about leaving her behind, but he respected the khan’s decision.

An uneasy silence settles between them, watching the children start to lose interest in flowers and attempt to start a game of tag. Morgan is clearly the youngest, following closely behind little Cynthia, but they’re close enough in age that they get along easily--Lucina and Gerome, both past the age of eleven, seem to have scorned their games and sit on their own, talking quietly to one another.

It’s not supposed to be strange that this is the most peaceful Lon’qu has felt since Grima’s rise, but to him it is, just a little--that he’d feel so at ease watching children run around a courtyard in the palace, talking quietly with one of his eldest friends. It’s been so long since he’s felt so calm, it’s almost as if he’d forgotten how it felt.

Neither he nor Olivia speak, just watch as Owain joins the group of children, almost instantly bossing everyone around to play the way he wants them to. Inigo butts heads with him, and the two boys argue with one another until Inigo huffs and goes back to the flowerbeds, Morgan hesitantly following after him.

Lon’qu breaks the silence.

“They both look like him.”

“Hmm?”

“Lucina and Inigo. They look like him.”

Olivia’s expression turns unreadable for a moment, before Lon’qu registers the sadness in her eyes. It’s been a few years since her husband passed, but it seems any mention of Chrom still summons a rain cloud over her head. But he understands the feeling--it’s been some time since his own wife disappeared (he refuses to say she’s died, or worse) and bringing her up still makes his throat tighten uncomfortably.

“They do, don’t they?” She says finally, fiddling with her sleeve. “Sometimes I think of how proud he’d be of them.”

Lon’qu isn’t sure of what to say for the longest moment, but he’s thinking along similar lines. What would his wife say if she were here? She probably would be just as proud…

“But they’re growing fast.” Olivia tugs him out of his thoughts gently. “Lucina…” A heavy sigh. “She’s starting to demand to be let into war councils now. She and Gerome are both so ready to get involved with this war against Grima…” Olivia glances at Lon’qu, her expression troubled. “She’s gotten so stubborn, I don’t know where she gets it from.”

“Well,” Lon’qu says, doing his best to find a way to break the mood (he’s always been terrible at that, but seeing Morgan playing with the other children makes him want to stay happy for just a little while longer, forget about Grima and the threat while they’re in this little courtyard; if only to continue seeing Morgan so happy, so carefree). “--I do know a particular woman who was stubborn enough to get me to befriend her, and has stayed my friend since.” His lips quirk up in mild amusement, head tilting in Olivia’s direction. “Surely she passed that along to her daughter.”

Olivia’s face turns red at his words as it always does, and she shoves at his arm--he tenses up, just a little, but he laughs under his breath anyway. It was strange, how time had slowly weathered his aversion to women, starting with his wife--his mind had become so occupied as of late, perhaps he’d simply moved on from it. It would never completely go away, but growing older and having a child had changed him.

A silence falls between them, but a comfortable one.

“--You’re good with him. Morgan, I mean.”

His brows knit together in confusion. “How do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re a really good father to him.” Olivia says, meeting his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve seen you smile to anybody else the way you do when he does something for you.”

“...”

“--If that makes sense.”

“It does.”

Another quiet silence, but it’s interrupted quickly enough.

“Mother!”

Inigo, Cynthia, and Morgan come running at them full speed, carrying something flowery in their arms. Both adults blink as they watched the trio running towards them, stopping abruptly in front of them.

“Mother, look what Cynthia taught me to do!” Inigo exclaims, holding out his hands for Olivia to see--a delicate circle of flowers sit in his palm. Matching crowns are in Cynthia and Morgan’s hands.

Cynthia puffs out her chest, her orange hair bobbing in its pigtails. “Mama taught me how to make them! She said she would teach me how to do flower fortunes, too!”

Olivia smiles, turning her attention from Lon’qu to the children, and lets Inigo set his flower crown delicately on her head. Morgan instantly goes to his father, tugging on his sleeve.

“I made one for you, Papa, see?” He holds out the crown, more stem than anything. “I picked the blue flowers to match your armor. They’re not very blue, but...I dunno, I just wanted blue ones.”

“I see…” The swordsman murmurs, crouching to see it better. “You did a good job.”

“Because I taught him how to do it right!” Cynthia butts in, beaming--she’s missing two teeth. “Isn’t that right?”

Morgan shies away a little still, but nods. “She and Inigo both helped me make it for you.”

“It’s very nice, Morgan, thank you.” Lon’qu takes it gingerly, setting it lightly on the top of his head. His hair’s so unruly that it sits oddly, but he’s smiling gently all the same.

Inigo comes over to join Morgan and Cynthia, eyes wide. “Woahhh, you’re not as scary as Owain said!” The little prince huffs, crossing his arms. “Jeez, he’s such a liar!”

Lon’qu’s not quite sure how to take that, but Morgan just smiles happily. “Papa’s very nice! He’s really strong, too. I wanna be just like him someday.” He wraps his arms around his father’s neck and  squeezes.

“Inigo! Cynthia!” Across the courtyard, Laurent is calling for them. Something’s caught the other children's attention. “There’s a strange beetle over here, and Owain's trying to kill it!”

“No, don’t!” Morgan shouts, letting go and dashing off--before turning around, hugging his father again and kissing his cheek. “Love you, Papa!” He says quickly, before running off to go save the beetle Owain wants to kill.

Lon’qu smiles faintly, and feels at home. This--this is what he wants for his son; he wants him to be safe and happy, kept away from the world at war just outside the palace walls. It won’t last, and he knows it, but if this can be their life for just a little while, he’ll be happy.

 

(In a few years’ time, the happiness will be gone, and the boy won’t remember this calm before the storm.)

 

“Father!”

The swordsman turns, frown letting up a little as his son (he’s still having a hard time coming to terms with the idea that he has a grown son now) approaches him, holding something in his hands. Aside from his memory problem, Morgan seems to be a happy young man, and a capable fighter. Lon’qu is still a little upset that Morgan doesn’t remember him at all, but he supposes it’s something that can’t quite be helped.

“What is it, Morgan?”

“Well--” He starts, letting out a breath. “--I was trying to think of something I could do to try and remember you more, right? Because I have Project Get Memories of Dad Back going on, because I really do want to remember you, it’s so silly I remember so much of Mother but you, don’t you think--”

The boy talks almost as much as his mother sometimes. “Morgan.”

“--Oh, right. Uh, anyway, I was trying to think about what I could do, and then I met up with Cynthia and Inigo, and Inigo said we should go look at the flowers, right? Because they’re really pretty, and he said he’d seen me pick flowers for Mother before as we march--”

“Morgan, the point?”

Morgan turns a light pink at the ears. “O-Oh. Sorry, was I rambling?”

Lon’qu doesn’t say anything, merely raises an eyebrow in mild amusement.

“I was. Uhm, okay. Sorry. But--yeah, so we went and picked some flowers, and then I thought I remembered something! Because you know that Inigo and Cynthia and all the others from the future know me, right? And so sometimes I can ask them about things, and Cynthia said she remembered teaching me and Inigo how to make things like daisy chains! And so when she said that, I thought I remembered something about you, so--” Morgan holds out his hands, showing off a wreath of pale blue flowers. “I tried making one. To see if I could remember any more. I couldn’t, not really, but it was worth a shot, you know?”

Something about this seems--oddly familiar, but Lon’qu puts the déjà vu feeling out of his mind for now.

“--I like the blue.”

“I hoped you would! I don’t know--but something about it just seemed familiar. I’m sad I didn’t remember much else, though…”

“You’ll remember eventually.” Is all he can think to say--Morgan’s mother still has yet to remember her own past. Morgan might not ever remember his. Lon’qu doesn’t want to remind him of that. “--Would you like to spar a little bit? The training area is open.”

Morgan jumps on the opportunity to be with his father, falling into step beside him rather easily, and chattering about the lady bugs he’d seen earlier in the day. Lon'qu feels more at ease than he has in some time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, look, I actually finished a fic for once! Yay! I'm really glad I got this out, it had been bumping around in my head for a while. I'm not quite sure if it came out the way I wanted it exactly, but it works. I really like Lon'qu as a father, to be honest, and I really like seeing him interact with Morgan as his son; their relationship in the original timeline is what I wanted to focus on, because I see Lon'qu being really loving to Morgan since losing the Avatar. I'm--not really sure it played off the way I wanted it to because once I started writing Olivia and Lon'qu together I couldn't stop, but that's alright. (Also my Morgan turned into quite a talker at the end, I don't know what happened.)
> 
> I'm still getting a handle on being able to write FE:A characters, so that's probably why Lon'qu and Olivia seem a bit ooc? I chalk it up to them being older. Also, I didn't mention my MU by name because I was torn between calling them Robin or Ur, which is her name in my copy of the game. But Ur's based off a character from something else so I felt weird about it. If I write more I'll have to decide which to use.


End file.
